Former “Bachelorette” Joan Vassos is giving advice to older adults who are considering “starting over.”
She admitted that it’s a tough journey, but she told people it’s worth it. Vassos, of course, is dating Chock Chapple, the Kansan she chose for her final rose on the “Bachelorette.” The 61 year old was also a contestant on the first season of “The Golden Bachelor,” but she left early because her daughter needed her.
“If your head is ready, I say just give it a try. What do you have to lose?” Vassos said in the video clip, which she shared to her Instagram page.
“And if you don’t meet someone right away at least you’re moving in the right direction,” Vassos said on the show, “Motivation With Marissa.”
“Maybe you’re skeptical for some reason,” Vassos noted. “Whatever you need, you’re not going to get it by sitting at home.”
Joan Vassos Acknowledged That Starting Over Is ‘Really Kind of Overwhelming’
Asked her message to older adults wanting a new relationship, Vassos acknowledged it’s “really kind of overwhelming starting over.”
“First of all, you know you’ve lived this pretty rich life with a person, and like you don’t think you can ever have it as good again,” she said. Vassos was widowed when she lost her husband, John Vassos, to cancer.
Chapple is divorced and then lost his fiance to an illness, so he and Vassos share the latter in common.
“You have to think of it, God is good,” she said. “This is a completely different journey.”
Joan Vassos Said She Believes She Could ‘Do This All Over Again’
Vassos noted that she was with her husband for 32 years. At 61, she says she could theoretically have another 32 years to share with someone.
She said she could “potentially have 32 more years so I could do this all over again in a really big way and have a really great life.”
If “you want that,” Vassos advised, “you have to really dip your toes in the water quickly. You don’t want to waste time.”
She admitted that at first her “head was ready. I knew I wanted a relationship. My heart wasn’t. My heart caught up.”
She noted, “Maybe your head needs to catch up. Maybe your heart needs to catch up,” but she urged people to “give it a try.”
